Willem de Kooning

De Kooning was born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on April 24, 1904. He studied art in Rotterdam until his immigration to the United States in 1926. In New York, he continued to paint and was employed as a commercial artist. De Kooning was associated with the Works Progress Administration's Federal Arts Project from 1935-1936. His work is often marked by its energetic, almost violent brushstrokes and near-complete disillusion of subject (exemplified by his series Women). He died in East Hampton, New York on March 19, 1997.

(Source: Grove Dictionary of Art Online)